Wonderfront’s first festival

 USD Toreros get a glance at the future of this exciting and expansive festival

Lizzy Jennings / A&C Editor / The USD Vista

On the weekend of Nov. 22-24, the music festival Wonderfront opened its gates to the public for the very first time. Hosted along the San Diego waterfront, the festival boasted beautiful views and an abundance of attractions for all kinds of visitors. Leaning on its location and on the natural beauty of San Diego, the festival was able to provide an experience for attendees that was unlike any other music festival in existence. 

Crowds entered the festival grounds for the first time ever on Friday, and many were shocked by how expansive Wonderfront really was. With four separate parks, the festival took over almost every major aspect of the San Diego waterfront area, spanning from Embarcadero South all the way to the Broadway Port Pier. Seaport Village, though open for business all weekend long, was surrounded by stages and booths. The close integration into the city of San Diego made the festival feel more cohesive with the location, rather than like an event that was just thrown wherever there was space.

Additionally, the Wonderfront team emphasized interacting with the waterfront throughout the festival experience. There were water taxis that carried festivalgoers to stages, and attendees could listen to the music from boats that cruised up and down the expanse of the various parks. Beyond that, there were even attendees who rented paddle boards or kayaks during their time at the festival. 

Friday’s festival activities got started later in the afternoon, with gates opening around 3:30 p.m. With this later start time, and with the sun setting so early, some festivalgoers felt that it was hard to get a handle on the park grounds. Senior Maddie Bailey was pleased with the event overall, but expressed that the venue was a little confusing. 

“For their first year, Wonderfront is a great festival with amazing sound production and a strong lineup, but logistically it is a challenge to navigate,” Bailey said.

Many chose to shuttle between the two most accessible sections of the festival, which were the Embarcadero North and the Seaport Village parks. These two sections, home to two stages each as well as food trucks and attractions, were just walking distance from one another and had some of the more well-known acts. 

Saturday the festival went into full swing, with an impressive lineup, and an even more impressive crowd. Gates opened at 11:30 a.m. on this day so attendees were able to get the lay of the land well before the sun set. For many, the day kicked off with The Knocks, or Big Gigantic, both mostly electronic acts. Impressive graphics and energetic crowds characterized the day’s early sets, as the younger crowds gravitated toward acts like Bryce Vine and Vince Staples. If the name Bryce Vine seems familiar, that is likely because he was just here performing for University of San Diego students during TPB’s Big Blue Bash. 

A somewhat surprisingly popular act among many of the USD students attending Wonderfront Festival was the group of rappers called Flatbush Zombies. Known for their aggressive audiences and insane shows, this act drew in many students who had been looking for the chance to see the well-known trio in person. Senior Wyatt Warren, of “Two Men, One Slice” fame, had a hot take on the very eventful Flatbush set.

“If you like sweaty mosh pits and stolen phones, I have just the place for you,” said Warren. “Flatbush Zombies’ set consisted of shoving some of your best friends into strangers while losing all of your possessions. Overall a great experience though.” 

Though the Flatbush Zombies’ San Diego set was a little more toned down than usual, with no broken bones or bloody noses, students who saw the act were still satisfied with the rambunctious performance.

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Finally Saturday came to a close with MGMT and Migos, playing at the same time across the festival. What was most interesting about this festival, and what became very obvious during this split of sets, was the demographic of this festival. 

 Unlike another San Diego festival, CRSSD, which has a very clear genre focus and strict 21+ policy, Wonderfront hosted artists that covered an impressive range of styles. This all-age policy then brought in a range of crowds, and though there was a great span of ages represented at the festival, crowds were mostly split by the performer. For example, the crowd at MGMT, which was slightly older and noticeably laid back, was very different from the young and high-energy Flatbush Zombie fans. 

Additionally, it is important to note that there was more to do at Wonderfront than just watch music. The grounds were filled with food tents offering fair like lobster mac n’ cheese and churros. Vendors sold handmade goods, and there were tents for activities like henna body art. Tony Hawk had his own stage with a skate ramp, where skaters performed tricks and routines a few times during the day. Some festivalgoers were even lucky enough to meet the legend himself, as he walked around the festival grounds freely. 

Sunday brought more of the same, with slightly better weather. Fifteen-year-old Grace Vaanderwhal played a set that showed maturity well beyond her age, and played off the crowd with the confidence of a seasoned performer. The popular indie band HippoCampus played a sunset set on a waterfront stage, and crowds lay out on blankets across a grassy hill overlooking the stage. For many, it was moments like this that were the highlight of the festival.

“The location of the festival, with stages that looked out onto the water, made the experience almost relaxing at times,” said senior Cameron Fruehe, who has high hopes for the future of this festival. “Sitting in the grass at sunset, looking out over the San Diego waterfront, listening to great music with good friends, it was pretty ideal.” 

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From there crowds split, with some staying for the reggae band Tribal Seeds while others made their way over to popular performer Big Wild. Big Wild’s set was one of the most impressive of the weekend, with insane graphics and beautiful sound. Main man Jackson Stell balanced his performance with live vocals from both himself and a female back-up group, alongside his classic electronic remixes. Most impressive of all were his whistling skills, which he performed live to the shock of many. Another EDM favorite was 3LAU, who kept the younger crowd dancing with his high-energy set.

Two of the biggest names of the weekend played next, with Walk the Moon on one stage and Tyga on the other. Though they were two of the most different performances of the weekend, both acts did a great job engaging their target audiences. Walk the Moon focused on great vocals and encouraging the crowd to sing along, while Tyga focused on playing his newest music and entertaining the audience with the help of four strippers. 

Representing a very different realm of the rap genre was Busta Rhymes, who, despite his age, is one of the fastest rappers performing to this day. He brought the crowds back to the nineties with some of his classic hits, and reminded the audience that they should expect the performers they pay to see to perform live, and give their shows their all. Overall, Busta Rhymes was shockingly very inspirational and wholesome, and very different from younger rapper Tyga’s stage presence.

Finally, to end the wonderful weekend, DJ of the Year Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike took the stage to finish the weekend with a bang. Though crowds were weary, the performer kept morale high and the audience excited. Festivalgoers seemed satisfied as they streamed out of the grounds, buzzing about everything they had seen and done during the weekend. 

Overall, it seems easy to say that Wonderfront was a success. Some festivalgoers felt the lack of security and expansive grounds were a hinderance to the overall experience. However, though there were certain aspects that need work, like the confusing layout of the grounds and the abundance of attractions and acts, Wonderfront was still strong in its inaugural year. 

Hopefully, for the sake of younger students, Wonderfront will become an annual tradition for Toreros who can easily access the festival from campus and were given student discounts for tickets.